Sharper Minds
Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2004

Extract:

"The age of smart drugs is dawning. Modafinil is just one in an array of brain-boosting medications — some already on pharmacy shelves and others in development — that promise an era of sharper thinking through chemistry.

These drugs may change the way we think. And by doing so, they may change who we are."

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The new mind-enhancing drugs ... hold the potential for more powerful, more targeted and more lasting improvements in mental acuity. Some of the most promising have reached the stage of testing in human subjects and could become available in the next decade, brain scientists say.

"It's not a question of 'if' anymore. It's just a matter of time," said geneticist Tim Tully, a researcher at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., and developer of a compound called HT-0712, which has shown promise as a memory enhancer. The drug soon will be tested in human subjects.

The new brain boosters stem in part from research to develop treatments for Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injuries, schizophrenia and other conditions."

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-smartdrugs20dec20,0,5957156.story?coll=la-home-health